Commentary and analysis to persuade people to become socialist and to act for themselves, organizing democratically and without leaders, to bring about a world of common ownership and free access. We are solely concerned with building a movement of socialists for socialism. We are not reformists with a programme of policies to patch up capitalism.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Fela Kuti - Voice for all Times

... Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money goSay am, say am [after each line]Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money goDem go write big English for newspaper, dabaru [deceive] we AfricansDem go write big English for newspaper, dabaru we AfricansI read about one of them inside book like that -Them call him name na I.T.TI read about one of them inside book like that -Them call him name na ITT

Then and now: In International Thief Thief Fela uses the abbreviation of International Telephone & Telegraph (IT&T) to take on big multinational corporations he accuses of draining Africa's resources by deviously setting Africans against one another. He criticises their African collaborators for selling out. The violence in Nigeria's Niger Delta is often attributed to the activities of Western multinational oil companies operating in the area. Although the bulk of Nigeria's oil wealth comes from the Niger Delta, the region remains heavily impoverished. The people of the area blame the oil companies and their government officials for the poverty in the region and have taken up arms to demand 'justice'.

Then and now: Coffin for Head of State criticises hypocritical leaders who hide behind their religions to commit atrocities against the people they lead. Fela recalls the 1979 attack on his compound by soldiers acting on the orders of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was military head of state at the time. Shehu Yar'Adua, elder brother of the current Nigerian president, Umaru Yar'Adua, was Mr Obasanjo's deputy. Fela's mother, a government worker, died in the attack and the singer and his Movement of the People group carried her mock coffin to Dodan Barracks, Lagos - seat of the military government - and left it at the gates. Although Fela did this song almost 30 years ago, some of the same people who were in government then are still in charge of affairs in Nigeria today. But military rule ended with Mr Obasanjo's election in 1999 as Nigeria's first democratically elected president after about 15 years of unbroken military rule. Mr Yar'Adua succeeded him in May.

Title: ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD Written: 1981

... Plenty, plenty water for AfricaNa so-so water in AfricaWater underground, water in the airNa so-so water in AfricaWater for man to drink nko O [so what]

E-no dey e dey?

Plenty, plenty light for AfricaNa so-so energy for AfricaNa the big-big men dey get electricIf them no get electric dem goIf they no get electricityGet plant OOrdinary light for man nko O

House matter na different matterThose wey dey for London demThose wey dey New York demThey leave dey like kingsWe wey dey for AfricaWe dey live like servantsUnited Nations dem comeGet name for usDem go call us underdeveloped nationWe must be underdevelopedTo dey stay ten-ten in one room OFirst and second deyDem go call us Third WorldWe must dey craze for headTo dey sleep inside dustbinDem go call us none-aligned nationsWe must dey craze for headTo dey sleep under bridge O

Then and now: When Fela composed Original Sufferhead in the 1980s, infrastructure and social services were in a very poor state in Nigeria. Today, the situation is much worse despite increased earnings from oil. Corruption and mismanagement remain serious challenges despite ongoing efforts to tackle them. But many Nigerians believe that the country's return to democracy in 1999 has brought with it increased hope that things would ultimately change for the better.